Kolkata, Jan 1 Dibyendu Das, the Additional Chief Electoral Officer, West Bengal will be operating as the acting CEO in the state till the time someone permanent is assigned for the chair which has become vacant following the retirement of Aariz Aftab.
Aftab retired from the post on Tuesday. Sources in the office of the CEO West Bengal said that since Das is the senior-most among the existing Additional CEOs in the state and also has experience of operating as acting CEO he has been chosen to operate till the time someone is nominated as a permanent CEO.
Meanwhile, uncertainties over the selection of Aftab’s successor as the permanent CEO are continuing as the West Bengal government is yet to send the list of Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers of the state cadre as the next occupant for the chair to the Election Commission of India (ECI).
As per the rules, the ECI will select one name from the panel of IAS officers forwarded to it by the state government.
Sources aware of the development said that it is quite an unprecedented situation that no panel has been forwarded to the ECI before the retirement or replacement of the sitting CEO in the state.
It is up to the ECI whether they will wait for some time for the state government to send the panel of IAS officers or ask state Chief Secretary Manoj Pant to immediately act on the matter.
Aftab, a 1991 batch IAS officer of the West Bengal cadre, had been one of the longest-serving CEOs in West Bengal, having taken over in February 2017. Under his supervision, the state witnessed three major elections, namely the Lok Sabha election in 2019 and 2024 and the state Assembly elections in 2024.
His tenure as the CEO had been more or less free of controversies. In fact, before the general elections earlier this year, his role was highly appreciated as he reportedly cautioned the District Magistrates, district Superintendents of Police and the Police Commissioners that he would not tolerate deterioration of law and; order anywhere in the state at any cost.
However, there were initial controversies over his appointment. The first two panels sent by the Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal government then were rejected by the ECI. Aftab’s name was picked up by the ECI from the third list sent by the Mamata government then.
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